As you are going through life working and paying taxes, you may not concern yourself with retirement planning. After all, you are paying into the Social Security program, so you will have a source of income as a senior citizen. You may also be contributing into the 401(k) plan that your employer offers, so you will have a retirement nest egg accumulated by the time you reach your sixties. When it comes to health care insurance, you will qualify for Medicare at the age of 65, so you won't have … [Read more...] about Is Retirement Planning Really Important?
Will Medicare Cover Everything?
Retirement is not something that will automatically fall into your lap. Yes, if you worked steadily throughout your life, you will qualify for Social Security and Medicare. However, careful retirement planning is important if you want to enjoy your senior years to the fullest. The government programs that are in place to provide for senior citizens are best viewed as safety nets. If you expect too much from these programs, you may find yourself in a difficult situation during the latter … [Read more...] about Will Medicare Cover Everything?
Retirement Planning FAQs: Can I Work When I’m On Social Security?
When Will I Receive Social Security?
There is a lot to take into consideration if you are preparing for your retirement years. You should understand what to expect from government benefits, and what you cannot expect. With this in mind, we will look at Social Security in this post. Qualifying for Social Security When you are working and paying taxes, you invariably see that FICA is consuming a significant portion of your pay. The good news is that you are paying into the Social Security program when you pay these taxes. You get … [Read more...] about When Will I Receive Social Security?
How Does an Individual Retirement Account Work?
We specialize in estate planning and elder care, but your estate plan should be contained within a broader, long-term financial plan. If you want to be able to enjoy your golden years to the fullest, you should have a solid retirement plan in place. For many people, an individual retirement account will be part of the plan. There are two different types of individual retirement accounts that are typically utilized. Let's look at the details. Traditional Individual Retirement Accounts With a … [Read more...] about How Does an Individual Retirement Account Work?
Three Social Security & Medicare Myths
Retirement planning is something that many people ignore until it is too late. A belief in certain myths about Social Security and Medicare is at the root of some of the procrastination and cavalier behavior. We would like to look at three of these myths here. 1.) Social Security will provide me with a solid income during my retirement years. Unfortunately the above statement is patently untrue for most people. We are all aware of the cost-of-living here in the greater San Jose and Santa … [Read more...] about Three Social Security & Medicare Myths
Understand Relevant California Elder Law Facts
In this post we would like to look at some California elder law resources that are very valuable for anyone who is preparing for life as an elder. The best way to proceed when you're making plans is to discuss everything in detail with a licensed elder law attorney. However, you should certainly do some research on your own so that you have a basic understanding of some of the most relevant facts. Retirement Planning & Social Security Clearly, financing your retirement is going to be … [Read more...] about Understand Relevant California Elder Law Facts
Working Longer Comes With Rewards
Many people set a retirement date based on the age at which they become eligible to start receiving Social Security. Of course, there are those who can indeed retire as soon as they become eligible for Social Security benefits, but not everyone is in this category. Under currently existing laws, you can start receiving your benefit when you are as young as 62. If you do this, you must be willing to accept a reduced benefit. Your benefit would be 30% less than it would be if you waited until … [Read more...] about Working Longer Comes With Rewards
The Incredible Shrinking Inheritance
If you run into some type of unexpected difficulty that is out of your control, there may not be much you can do about it on one level. However, if you take steps to prepare for unpleasant contingencies, the impact can be much less severe. The above enters into the realm of retirement and estate planning. Many people are still feeling the impact of the financial upheaval that the country experienced in 2007 and 2008. Of course, some were more prepared to absorb the blow than others. If you … [Read more...] about The Incredible Shrinking Inheritance
Foresight Is the Key to a Secure Future
Statistics indicate that a significant percentage of baby boomers who are now nearing the typical retirement age are not ready from a financial perspective. Most people are not going to be able to make up for lost time when it comes to retirement preparations. It can take decades to accumulate the resources that you need to put a solid financial underpinning in place that enables a comfortable retirement. When should you begin preparing for the future? The answer is that you really can't start … [Read more...] about Foresight Is the Key to a Secure Future
